Minnesota Twins Win Zebby Opener in Convincing Fashion

with zebie Matthews making his big league debut what is this Tuesday night the twins put more distance between themselves and the Royals meanwhile the Guardians are back to never losing again never mind that let's get locked on twins you are locked on twins your daily Minnesota Twins podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello again everybody and welcome back to lock on twins your daily go-to destination for the best Minnesota Twins Insight discourse and Analysis a reminder too that the lock on twins podcast is part of the locked on podcast Network which brings you your team every day and that team is the Twins and I'm your co-host Dave Brown I've been in the bbwaa since 2012 and a professional ball rider of some sort since uh 1998 and across cyberspace the cyberspace aisle from me is Brandon Warren who also has bonafides Brandon tell them you've been watching the twins since 1993 which if you're not that a person of that age just know that in 1991 the Minnesota Twins won the World Series and in 1992 they were in the race until I think Eric Fox ruined for them and then 1993 happened and then everything went to the the pits and that's when I started watching the twins so I've been watching them for over 30 years covering them for about half that long and my story with the twins is long and varied and I love telling it to you all every single day so just about the time you showed up they started losing is that what you're saying yeah exactly by the way quickly this episode is brought to you by priz piix the easiest and most exciting way to play DFS go to priz pi.com lockon MLB and use the code locked on MLB all lowercase for a first deposit match up to 100 bucks a lot of strong performances came in a 13-3 victory for the twins Tuesday night against the Royals but the man of the hour is rookie right-hander zebie Matthews Daniel Zebulon Matthews he was in high a three months ago and now he's pitching in the majors in the pennant race that's pretty neat uh two earned runs allowed five innings pitched five strikeouts no walks which is kind of his calling card his fast ball averaged 95 and he got 11 called strikes with it I saw some stats that said uh he didn't necessarily throw as many strikes as he could but you know when you're sometimes you don't want to throw strikes like you said in the major leagues you want to get him to to chase uh well whatever he was doing it looked really impressive he he looked know the twins have used U David Festa and they've used Louis varand as rookies in the rotation this year and I don't know if zebi has better stuff than F but he looks a little more uh refined a little more ready for his moment and fest's results have been improving too if if the twins could get Festa and zebie going through the last six weeks of the Season it would be pretty good uh what's as far as you can tell Brandon what's your first impression I think it goes to show that it you know you always say to raise a child that requires a village I same with pitching rotation stuff you know you can't mass-produce Brad rad like the twins tried to do after the fact with Scott Baker and Kevin slowy and Nick Blackburn and I mean the list goes on and it didn't work out and not not that that doesn't mean that maybe there was some good decisions made in the process but you gotta have guys that'll come up and you know maybe one can't hit the broadside of the barn but throws 99 and another is 92 with a really good change up and another is 93 but he hides the ball well and so the fact that nothing really unifies these guys in terms of common characteristics probably plays not only in the favor of the twins over the long term but also shows that they can evaluate different types of pitchers and kind of project you know seven feet tall and a big old beard bayy obber who throws 92 can be good and so can zebi who walks nobody and throws a little harder and so can Festa who does this and so can you know Andrew Morris who had uh really good debut with the Saints like it's all different types and it really just goes to show the beaut of the baseball where you know a guy built like me and a guy built like uh oh I don't know who's who's one of this ELC Escobar back in the day super skinny guy or something uh they can both have a seat at the table and I think that's what I love most about the game is um come on come all and you have a chance that's beautiful Brandon I didn't expect you to go into like a poetic existential oh my goodness I I love baseball even more I agree with you 100% about what you just said he mentioned uh that he doesn't walk anybody zebie and he really doesn't I mean he didn't walk anybody tonight um and he has only 22 career walks as a professional in 205 career Innings coming in uh that's nuts um and that's it's hard to uh necessarily make that continue to play in the major leagues but uh when because these guys you know can hit basically anything but um you know when he when you throw as hard as he does and you locate as well as he does uh he was using the corners great his first strikeout was against Bobby Wht and Bobby Whit you know he'll strike out a little bit but he was throwing you know 93 mph Cutters in the corner and it was just uh it was kind of an eye opening like wow this is what zeby Matthews can do that was a that was a fun way to start he had a good first inning and then the twins offense got to Seth Lugo he had uh I was mistaken I thought maybe the the twin the twins had beaten uh the Royals and one of Lugo starts but they didn't really get to him it was kind of after he left earlier the season I think Lugo came in and and had allowed one earn run I think in two games against the twins but they got to him uh some bad defense too but uh for three runs right away and it's uh it just changes the uh the whole outlook on a game when uh you know even though zebi had a good first inning the offense just jumps on Lugo it changes the calculus it changes the feeling it's uh it's something that we kind of wish the twins would do more often it seems like they behind you know a couple of runs before they score but uh that's really great for the offense to continue to against a good pitcher put up a bunch of runs yeah MLB's best scoring offense from Innings seven on in baseball if I'm not mistaken I think they have the best raw run to and maybe the best differential I want to focus two on oh by the way Lugal threw eight different pitches tonight based on statcast s's listing I want to read this off just because I was I was stumbling through it here while you were uh Soliloquy in as old dusty roads used to say uh for seam fastball Sinker curveball slurve change up splitter slider sweeper he threw all of those more than four times so like yeah there can be pitch misclassifications or you know you got a the algor them gets a little funky here or there but he was giving the twins everything they could handle and they were like whatever bro and uh also too I wanted to look into the idea zebi had six swinging strikes on 77 pitches now six out of 77 you're well under 10% it's only a one start sample it's a first Big League start we're not trying to make anything out of it more than it is but I feel like if there is a pitch pitcher type of pitcher that could be better than their swinging strike rate is it's someone with razor good uh you know razor thin command or razor precise command and you know especially too if he can locate that cutter to where you know maybe he back doors it on left-handed hitters there's going to be a lot of called third strikes that should keep his strike out rate more than respectable in addition to not walking anybody you know maybe like a you know Phil Hughes like where you walk eight or sorry strike out eight per nine and walk one and a half or something like you can still be plenty good without striking out a guy per inning if it comes to it that's a pretty interesting comparison Phil Hughes I kind of like it um he he his fat fast ball average 95 I think I mentioned he got 11 called strikes with it that doesn't necessarily count the Cutters too um but that's uh you know sort of what you're saying that uh you know if you're able to paint MH that's going to give you a leg up in this league and if you're able to be that good with the with your command now he did he gave up a home run he kind of gave up a actually I didn't think it was that bad a pitch to MJ Melendez he even it looked like he jammed him or almost jammed him a little bit but it was just a little too much out over the plate and that was one of the runs that he gave up on a home run uh zebi kind of uh maybe came in too with a reputation for being a little vulnerable to the home run but uh that also could be statistical noise at this point but he gave up one yeah I know MJ Melinda stinks but man when I look at him I see a ball player I keep thinking there's something there he's been better lately he's been uh he's he's incredibly streaky he started the season incredibly uh not doing anything and he's been better lately the twins have some players like that too so they they know how it goes um and we can talk a little bit more about the offense when we come back from our break I guess yeah let's take a quick breather and come back because what a night at the Ballpark anytime you win by 10 runs there's plenty to talk about SO pitching hitting you name it we'll talk about it here when we come back have you tried liquid Ivy yet because if you haven't I highly recommend it I've been having this in the house in fact I got a shipment today it was crazy I ordered it and it showed up within two hours and I can't give credit to liquid IV for that but I can give credit for how quickly it gives me the hydration I need just need a 16 oun bottle of water and a tube of liquid IV and you are good to go it's not like those other uh hydration people where you got to carry the big bottles around and stuff it's super transportable it's super easy and they've got so many flavors I personally like the popsicle the firecracker uh popsicle firecracker I got to get the words in the right order it's a festive blend of citrus fueled lemon lime tart cherry and raspberry but there's a sa Berry lemon lime P colada my wife even brought home pear one of these uh last times that she bought it um you just tear Poe and live more like I said one stick plus 16 ounces of water hydrates you better than water alone it's powered by the liquid IV Hydra science that is the optimiz ratio of electrolytes essential vitamins and clinically tested nutrients which turn ordinary water into EXT extraordinary hydration there's three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink eight essential vitamins and nutrients it's always non GMO vegan gluten-free dairy free and soy free no more thirsty Summers when you indulge in hydration with liquid IV get 20% off your first order of liquid IV when you go to liquid iv.com and use the code MLB at checkout that's 20% off your first order when you shop better hydration today using promo code MLB at liquid i.com and our friends at prize pick want you to know that they are America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over five million active members it's the easiest and most exciting way to play DFS because unlike other sports apps it is just you and the numbers so you pick more than or less than on two to six player stat projections and watch your winnings roll in you want to play Things risky you want to play Things close to the best you have options you can even do something in between mix and match match easy for me to say your demon and Goblin picks and uh get those multipliers going if you want to put down 10 bucks and go real risky they'll get you up to a 100 times your money but you really got to get risky but that that bring home a thousand bucks so it' be pretty great to hit on that um but again the multipliers multipliers sorry uh will go as high or as low as your risk tolerance is um finals and Olympics over but still Hoops going on we've got women's Hoops still going crazy with Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese Asia Wilson Brianna Stewart nefisa Collier all kinds of different stars who have been just tremendous and I watched that final that gold medal game in the Olympics and seeing that French girl hit that shot at the buzzer beater and know that she had hit a two and she needed a three boy that was that was heartbreaking but you could win up to 100 times your money watching the WNBA gals ball out price picks available in more than 30 States including California Texas Georgia got to check it out download the app and see if your state is one of them download the priz picks app today and use code lockon MLB and they'll give you a first deposit Manch up 100 bucks that's code locked on MLB on price picks for a deposit match up to a 100 bucks pick more pick less it's that easy the uh the Royals not doing I can imagine the Roy fans right now are kind of a little perturbed or a little uh off-put by what's going on in the series so far especially tonight with uh really a 13-3 almost a non-competitive game I don't know if the Royals gave up or anything but the twins brought in some of their lesser relief pitchers after zebi and not much was going on ocher gave up a home run right away to Salvador per Perez but other than that not much going on there the Royals now three games in the Lost column behind the twins I don't think unless there's some kind of huge Collapse by the Guardians that the Royals are going to finish first they're still in a good position though for the wild card I think I'm pretty sure the AL Central is gonna it's gonna have a great chance for three playoff teams and not a lot of people thought that would happen before the season but uh the twins offense just you know we talked about zebi but the offense was uh Relentless against Lugo who had not given up more than six runs um in any start this season this was a career high for him seven earned runs allowed I think and uh my offensive star of the game it's you know it's it's hard to say I just amazed though at how Christian Vasquez has turned his season around he's he's been uh strong behind the plate much better than Ryan Jeffers on defense and in the second half of the season I believe this is correct he's hit he hit another home run is seventh of the Season he's hitting 378 429 703 slashing that in the second half it's huge for the team it's huge for him too he got up to such a slow start this season after having such a disappointing season last year and he's been one of the more valuable twins lately as they continue to hang around Christian Vasquez has been The Man Behind the plate and uh you know the twins would not be in as good a position as they are without him there another way to say it takes a village but it's actually kind of ironic because they've only had two catchers for the last year plus year almost two years I don't know if if uh Hayer kamaro caught an inning or anything but for the longest time the only two uh players who had caught innings for them were Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vasquez and I I have to say defensively I have greatly favored Christian Vasquez all season long I know Jeffers defense you know he's had his moments especially in years before but this year he's just been a little I wouldn't say disengaged or anything but it's just not been par or up to par whereas Vasquez is I think he's like fourth in defensive run saved and all the metrics seem to love him and yeah now that the stick's coming around I mean this is a guy who didn't he h like 24 home runs with the Red Sox in the year the Juiced ball I mean he's he's had offensive success before so it's not like this as Martin Maldonado breaking out of his shell or anything but right it's it's good to see and it's good to see a guy who just does his job be rewarded because if you told me that he would have a slugging percentage of 366 as we prepare to get to the mid middle of August I'd have been like are you sure you're not talking about his Ops based on how you know things had gone for a while there uh I guess that's probably a Martin Maldonado call back too but yeah it just it hats off to him again nobody's going to go crazy over 227 257 366 as a triple slash which is where he's at right now but to know where you are is to know where you've been and where Christian Vasquez has been compared to where he is now big difference a few other guys had good games uh Max Kepler I think he started out with a couple strikeouts ended up with three hits and and driving in four runs uh Jose Miranda had a really good game and on defense too he he made a couple of really good plays at third base there was one where he cut off a short stop and that always makes me nervous and he did a turn and made a strong throw at first and his shoulder was fine and he had been in a rut you know guys fall into ruts it really wasn't the slump because it wasn't that long but I think I added up he was two for 20 in the past six games had three hits including a double and I think he had a triple so he was the Homer shy of the cycle right that was know usually the triple's the hard one but um great performance there and you know um just a replete offensive performance and uh kind of not knocking the Royals into submission I don't think that's going to be the case I'm sure they'll bounce back but the twins just sort of exercising their will now it comes down to you know if the Royals want to prevent a sweep in a pretty good position to do so I think vand is supposed to start in in the finale on Wednesday afternoon and over start opener against uh Texas right and uh Cole Reagan's uh left-hander on the mound you'd think that the the the Royals would be in a good position to Stave off the a sweep there I don't know it's uh but I wouldn't have expected uh Lugo to get pounded around kind of weird to for a guy to be named reagins and be a lefty right you know he started out as a Lefty everybody everybody remembers rap Master Ronnie when he was you know Mr Conservative but he was uh you know he was the head of the uh the union the actor's Union in uh in the in Hollywood at one time and then he he like turned a whole bunch of people into the McCarthy committees one of my one of my favorite bits is this is getting away from politics because nobody wants to hear that is when there's a crazy play uh like if there's a there was one the other day and it was what was it 524 double play or something like that and I'll say all twingo prizes have been awarded and I just do a hashtag of it well back in the day uh at the metronome you'd get twingo cards and you know the invariably you'd need a 7654 double play to finish your twingo right so any time you get a a weird play I always say that and because uh the the goofy old board up in left field like way up in the like the area where Mark Maguire would maybe hit a ball would say all Twingle priz in the dome yeah yeah back in the old days walk haunt y it all twin prizes have been awarded so you know to discard your card and and move on with your night and uh Christian bosquez and Kyle Farmer homering on the same night would be a twin go uh all Twingle prizes have been awarded or twingo blackout night would be uh apt for that as well I'm glad you mentioned Kyle farmer it was uh uh the Royals uh yeah Will Smith was on the mound and uh let's just say the twins slapped him around a little bit welcome to Miami and uh a funny thing Kyle farmer finally the man who brought the sausage finally brought the dong hit his first home run of the season and long on that you know what don't no I didn't mean to say it like that how long you been sitting on that one no no no that's not nice where do we go from there we go to the twins Dugout because when farmer returned to the Dugout they gave him the silent treatment because well he he's kind of had a silent season no that's not why they gave it to him because he's a guy they all like and they like they waited for a good 30 seconds before they even reacted and then bosquez was like I love that no uh before we go to break I actually did this to a guy uh two weeks ago in softball before we went on our vacation and uh he's a he's a runner he actually didn't play last night because he ran in a marathon but he hit one and it was real Sunny beyond the fence and he didn't know that it went out and I kept yelling at him go go and he rounded the bases and got to third base before he realized that it had gotten out and in softball you know you just turn around and walk back to the Dugo as soon as it as soon as it leaves so I was messing with him and he he had no idea got out he ran full boore to third basement and then he was uh he was pretty hot at me but um you know what that's uh we don't do hot foot anymore in baseball and softball so it's the next best thing before we go to break I want to make sure to get this pun in because one of my favorite things that I say on Twitter that nobody reacts to is that when Cole Reagan pitches you gotta I do a line from New Jack City the movie with Wesley Snipes you got to R to get rich in the Reagan Era because like he's very stingy with the runs so that that's all I wanted to say I I I I really like to say that on Twitter when he has a good performance and we'll see if I'll be saying it tomorrow when when the twins go up against Cole Reagan [Music] what that probably wasn't very nice but uh iata is nice and if you're buying all kinds of stuff this summer like I know I am and I'm sure Dave is because we both have kids ibata is the place to be download the app and you don't get points you don't get vouchers you don't get anything goofy you get money back in your pocket and it's pretty much anywhere you shop they have over 2,400 Brands over a thousand retailers Lowe's Macy Sephora Best Buy the kinds of places you go on a regular basis all you do you upload your receipt you select offers and they give you the Bucks the average I body user earns 256 bucks per year that can cover a lot of different things a fancy dinner a shopping trip a flight that you've been looking at maybe getting away for a weekend that sort of thing but you can cash out with bank account PayPal gift cards you just add offers again like I said upload your receipt and boom the money shows up there's over 50 million users who use ibata you could be number 50 million and one earning cash back every time you shop right now I bought is offering our listeners five bucks Just For Trying the app using the code locked on MLB when you register so go to the app store or Google play and download the free ibata app to start earning cashback and use code locked on MLB that's IBO TTA on the Google Play or App Store and use code locked on MLB and of course who could forget eBay Motors passion drive and patience are the formula for winning championships and also what keep your Ride Alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance whether it's a supercharger roof rack exhaust kit LED headlights or more whether you're into speed power performance style whatever you want eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride You'll Always Find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay's guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or you get your money back back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home that W so keep your right alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only and exclusions do apply but eBay guaranteed fit is only available to us customers well the last thing or one of the last things maybe the last thing that I want to talk about is how the Guardians are being the Guardians again the Cubs are no help they lost uh to Cleveland tonight two to one they had a bunch of opportunities they didn't take advantage of it but the thing I wanted to focus on was fourth straight day fourth day in a row Steven vote goes to Emanuel class to close the game four days in a row can you imagine uh some people would be really happy if your or uh Joan danan uh came in for four days in a row you're not going to get Rocco to do that until it's like October um and I swear and he was fine he was good class was that's not the issue of course you go to class usually in the ninth inning is this ever gonna come back to bite the and Hunter Gattis Hagrid as I call him three days in a row himself is this ever going to come back to bother the the the Guardians at all this overuse of the bullpen what's going on as much as I hate to say it I it does bother me when things that shouldn't work do and when the the longterm doesn't catch up when teams use this kind of uh process because the twins have been a process organization you know protect guys all that you know uh play the long game and and platoons and you know Kyle farmer suddenly with a 188 average even after hom ring tonight you know it's like oh he be starting against lefties well he's been lousy and Manuel Margo pinch hitting 0 for 30 whatever I mean those all are defensible decisions that should work over the medium to long term whereas you know burning out your Bullpen before you're even Midway through August that should come back to bite you and yet I have very little confidence that it will just because I don't know I just I keep seeing the Guardians do what they do and it's like you just kind of lose faith that the laws of of regression apply to them they do have the best record in the major leagues still ask their fans on Twitter so I mean it's it's worked so far but you know with with a with a lead on the Twins and having come back from uh losing the first two games of the series and winning the next two I really think like he he can't possibly do it again tomorrow right class day for five days in a row that's that would be managerial malpractice you can't possibly do it I don't think he needed to do it today I mean there have been games or stretches of games where you know uh ja has come in for three out four days or maybe six out of nine or something like that nice but uh Rocco and Pete Macky have stuck to their guns and they they haven't overdone it and you know we saw um you know the other day in a in a safe situation that the guy they just picked up off a scrap he got three outs at the end of a game so yeah Trevor Richards Trevor Richards he looks I couldn't remember his name he looks exactly like a guy named Craig in my Twitter feed and I'll Point him out too and you'll be like holy crap not Craig the ryer calcatera no not Craig the ryer not Craig Goldstein not Craig uh you know this is this guy Craig that follows me randomly he a guy who lives in the Twin Cities and he looks exactly like him well we we were about the we're reaching the end of the road Stephen Stephen vote stop riding your pitchers like their horses they're people keep doing it I want to see it burn him I want to see it go as poorly as SO pitching match up tomorrow jamus and tyion for the Cubs Alex Cobb for the Guardians sounds like a Cubs Victory right so even if Co Reagan gets the best of the twins they still shouldn't lose any ground because the Cubs should beat that the Guardians with that matchup right I don't I'm ready for you know uh Brian roio to hit a 52 M hour exit velocity home run and I got some roio right rooki of the year uh yeah I just I have no faith in uh even if that happens That's How The Season's gone right that the twins they lose a game oh the Guardians then they'll lose you know so even that we can be cynical about it's so very step yeah anyway it's August 13th we'll see what happens but well for Brandon Warren this is Dave Brown and this has been locked on Twins and we thank you for joining us and is there something official that we can add like a you know to the end here that I'm not ready for obviously like this has been brought to you by or oh yeah you know that's actually a that's a that's a good point we want make sure you check out Paul Sullivan suly Sullivan on the uh locked on MLB podcast thanks for making us your first listen make him your second listen with Sully Paul Sullivan not the one from Chicago he's here daily to provide his with his trademark hum for yes exactly MLB playoffs here in the dog days of summer so prepare for the fall classic with Sully who has it all covered every single day on locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts it's part of locked on podcast Network which is your team every day there we go he found it all right uh Brandon and twins fans uh this has been locked on Twins and we are going to see you C see you tomorrow tomorrow night night night good night night bye